Crossroads
by Lady Silence
Summary: Short piece on Buffy's thoughts of the future after Sunnydale.


TITLE: Crossroads

AUTHOR: Silence

DISCLAIMER: Joss, Fox, UPN and whoever own all things Buffy. The song "Sink N Swim" belongs to Plumb

SPOILERS: If you haven't read the wildfeed or seen the finale, don't read this.

FEEDBACK: Please?  
SUMMARY: It's um.. Something. lol

DEDICATION/BLAME: To everyone who is completely insane. Yup.

AUTHORS NOTES: I thought it's been sooo long since I've written a simple Buffy piece, I'd put this together in honor of the show ending. I really had no idea what I was going to write, so I just rolled with it. This is what came up.

_________________ 

"All you need to do is stand up there and sing, sweetie."

I frowned as I followed Lorne's gaze to small setup in the lobby of the Hyperion. "Sing. Gotcha."

The demon gave me a warm smile. "You sing, I read."

I gave a short nod. "So okay, no one else is here, right?"

"Not a one. Tall dark and brooding is at the big office and I think your friends are getting a tour of the place."

I walked over to the makeshift sound setup and put a cd I had bought that morning in the machine.

__

"I lost it all..  
You got it back..  
Believed in me..  
When I gave up on myself again.."

My voice wasn't the greatest, but Lorne gave me an encouraging smile.

__

"A sudden rain..  
Revealed your face.  
I knew right then..  
No matter where I go I'd have your hand to hold..

We will sink & We will swim  
Til' the ocean turns to sand..  
We will laugh  
We will cry  
Til' there's no more breath inside  
'We will sink  
We will swim.."

I was vaguely aware of the door opening and footsteps coming inside, but I kept going anyway.

__

"I was..  
A tender reed..  
Bent in the wind  
And then the storm had passed..  
And you helped me stand upright again..

__

So here we are..  
Nothing to lose  
So take my hand  
We'll jump right in  
The waters warm  
It's time to live..

We will sink & We will swim  
Til' the ocean turns to sand..  
We will laugh  
We will cry  
Til' there's no more breath inside  
'We will sink  
We will swim.."

I took a breath and allowed myself to get lost in the moment.

__

"It doesn't rain for nothing..  
It will shine for you..

We will sink & We will swim  
Til' the ocean turns to sand..  
We will laugh  
We will cry  
Til' there's no more breath inside  
We will sink  
We will swim.."

The song ended and Lorne gave me a nice amount of compliments before he got to the point. He led me to the circular couch in the middle of the lobby. We sat and he stared at me intently. "There's a lot of pain and confusion in that head of yours."

I snorted. "Obviously. So what's the diagnosis?"

"That's tough to say. I'm seeing lots of emotions, but not a lot of action."

"Okay, I recall saving the world from a Lord of the Rings rip off a couple months ago."

"Which connects to most of the confusion I'm getting." Lorne gave me a serious look. "Honey, if I were you I'd take a seat, look back, do some mental recon and see where you want to go from there."

"Can you get any more vague?"

"I could, but I wouldn't want you to ruin this fine piece of Armani."

I laughed and smiled at him. "Cute. Thanks for taking the time for this."

"For a slayer? Any time." He grinned and rose to his feet. "I'll see you later. I have a meeting and these people do NOT like to wait."

I stared at him with a small smile. "You're dying for me to ask with who."

"Is Angel tone deaf?"

"Hehe. Sorry. Not biting."

"You ARE evil."

I closed my eyes and smiled wider as I leaned my head back against the back of the couch. As Lorne's footsteps faded off, silence surrounded me.

It was nice.

Seven years of being The Chosen one. Now I was one of many. I was still the oldest, the most experienced, but I wasn't as special as I used to be. 

We who survived had gone to Vegas for a month. Why? Well apparently Giles knew someone who owed him a favor, so we pretty much took over a small hotel to regroup and decide what was next.

Then Giles took Willow, Kennedy, Faith, and a few others back to England. The plan was to hook up with the few Watchers that were still around. Rebuild.. And have Willow start tracking the other Slayers.

Meanwhile, Xander, Dawnie, and I brought the rest of the newbie Slayers here to L.A. I thought Angel could help out. Take in a few, give them a purpose, that sort of thing. Boy was I shocked to see his new setup. Wolfram & Hart. At least the girls will have nice paychecks.. I save the world at LEAST seven times and you don't see anyone offering me a huge law firm to do what I want with.

Instead.. I have the opportunity to officially retire from active duty. Long overdue I must admit.

The couch sank as the visitor from earlier joined me. I didn't need to open my eyes. I'd know those footsteps, that cologne, that.. aura, anywhere. "Hey, Xander."

"Hey." I opened my eyes and turned my head to watch him. He was staring at me with his good eye. "You okay?"

"Peachy." I grinned. "We need to get you a glass eye. Be all Columbo like."

"Funny." Xander said dryly. "Did you get what you wanted from Lorne?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "I was expecting more. No.. I was.. Hoping, for more."

"Ah. Hoping for something on Spike?"

I arched my brow curiously. I wasn't sure what surprised me more. The fact that Xander asked about Spike, or the fact that I wasn't even thinking about him when I sang.

"No.." I paused. "I was hoping for something about us. The Scooby family and extended members." I straightened up and ran a hand through my hair. "It's a crossroads. There's a lot of paths we could go down, and I just want to know which is the best road for everyone."

"Why not stop and decide which road YOU want first." Xander said. "This a chance for you to find out what you want too."

"Yeah.. But I've been Buffy the Vampire Slayer for so long, I'm not really sure WHAT Buffy Summers even wants. Besides keeping Dawnie happy." I added hastily.

"You could always go back to school." Xander suggested.

"I don't think colleges look fondly on people who destroy entire towns." I said with a smirk.

Xander smirked back. "We can go back to Vegas and see if we can win another grand or so."

"Or lose what we won last time around." I shook my head. "I think.. East."

"East?"

I nodded. "I think Dawn and I should move to a nice large, non hellmouthy place."

"No Cleveland?"

"Ha." I shoved him lightly. "No. I'm thinking.. Rhode Island. New York. Someplace over there. Maybe somewhere they have snow.. And I have a reason to actually buy the winter stuff in catalogs."

Xander chuckled. "I could deal with that. We can get some skiing in."

"Inviting yourself with the Summers, eh?"

"You know me, I follow the leader."

"I'm not the leader anymore."

"Then I follow the Buffy." Xander said. He shrugged. "Besides, if you think I'm going to stay here in the land of Angel think again. Wesley told me about his singing. I'd like to avoid that at all costs."

I smiled. "Well then, if you're coming with, feel free to dish out suggestions." I stood up with a stretch and glanced down at him. "It'll be like last summer."

Xander and I shared another smile. "You, me, and Dawn. Fun times." He stood up and on impulse I embraced him tightly. "Hey, not that I'm complaining, but what's that for?"

"Because I can." I said and let him go. "One Harris surrounded by two Summers girls. Every man's dream."

"Well it's a good one." He replied with a grin.

The lobby doors opened and a voice filled the room. "Xander! Dawn keeps saying Anakin in Episode 2 is better than Luke!!"

I snickered and Xander groaned. "Okay, you, me, Dawn and Andrew."

"Could be worse." I said and looped my arm around his. "We could be in the land of Tweed and Tea."

"Can I change my mind?"

"Sorry, no refunds." I said. "You're stuck with us now."

Xander gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. But I'm picking where we go to dinner tonight."

"Okay." I nodded in agreement as we headed for the exit doors where Dawn and Andrew were waiting.

"And I get two votes on where we live."

"Yes sir."

"I also get the right to veto any and all major decisions."

"Don't push it."


End file.
